Attorney Profiles

Since 1976, I have been blessed with an interesting and wide range of experiences. After law school I managed the congressional campaign of a Vietnam Veteran, (prisoner of war and retired Air Force Officer). With an interest in governmental law, I served as a volunteer aide to a Georgia State Senator while I attended law school.

From 1977 to 1983 I served as the first Staff Attorney for the Southeastern Legal Foundation. Our goal was to support and protect the free market system, promote individual rights and to oppose waste and oppressive government regulations.

My work at SLF covered many areas of law: elections; civil rights; labor; environment; energy; labor; OSHA; education; municipal government; state government; pensions; endangered species; and other issues. It involved considerable writing and I had the chance to write several friend of the court briefs to the United States Supreme Court and to other courts.

In 1983 I opened my own law office in Marietta, Georgia and shifted my focus to criminal and civil litigation, domestic relations, corporate law, estate planning and other areas of general law. I have handled a wide range of trials and appeals. Through this work I became very involved in the local community. After the death of a local judge, I served briefly as an appointed State Court Judge and later was appointed to the first County Board of Elections and Registration. Later I was elected to the Marietta City Council and served four years, representing 10,000 people, while still maintaining my full time law practice. I served as Public Safety and Finance Chairman, and was Mayor pro temp for one year.

The start of my City Council service coincided with the formation of my partnership with Wayne Krause, my friend since 1973 when we started Emory Law School together. In 1989, Wayne and I formed Krause & Hirons. Over twenty years later, we have grown in experience. Although only I have gray hair, both of us believe we have the seasoning which enables us to offer common sense and solid legal advice to our clients. We both know that the Court system is inefficient, costly to negotiate, and often filled with unexpected pitfalls. While we will take our clients to court when it is appropriate to do so, we are careful to explore other approaches which may produce a cost-effective and satisfying remedy for our clients. We can help our clients avoid problems in the first place.

We are perhaps, a bit old fashioned. We still believe that we can zealously represent our clients in an aggressive manner within the bounds of ethics and honor. If you are looking for a firm with lawyers who will do anything to win, look somewhere else.

Wayne and I will draw on our combined 60 years of experience in deciding how best to help our clients. Some cases require legal litigation, others require common sense solutions, and still others require the benefit of experience which tells us what works and what does not. We will tell you what you need to hear, even if you do not want to hear it, and work with you to solve your problems quickly and efficiently.

See article on Death and Digital Data, quoting Allen Hirons.

Areas of Practice

• Adoptions
• Civil Litigation
• Estate Planning & Estate Administration
• Guardianships & Conservatorships
• Personal Injury Law
• Probate Law
• Wills & Trusts
• Real Estate Litigation

Litigation Percentage

• 25% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Bar Admissions

• Georgia, 1976
• U.S. District Court Northern District of Georgia, 1976
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1981
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1978
• Georgia Court of Appeals, 1976
• Supreme Court of Georgia, 1976
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1979

Education

• Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, Georgia, 1976
  J.D.
  
  
• Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 1973
  B.A.
  Honors: Cum Laude
  Honors: Dean's List
  Major: Government, With Distinction
  
  

Published Works

• Georgia Estate Planning and Probate Law: Why Do I Need a Will?, West Legal Directory, http://library.findlaw.com/2000/Jun/1/12
• Estate Planning "You May Not Need It, But Your Family Does", The Georgia Kiwanian, Nov-Dec, 1992

Representative Cases

• Cook v. State, 340 S.E.2d 843 (Ga.Sup.Ct. 1986)
• Willis v. Dept. of Revenue, 340 S.E.2d 591 (Ga.Sup.Ct. 1986)
• Cameron v. State, 345 S.E.2d 575 (Ga.Sup.Ct. 1986)
• Nash v. State, 347 S.E.2d 651 (Ga.App. 1986)
• Bd. of Trustees of Employees' Retirement System of Georgia v. Kenworthy, 322 S.E.2d 720 (Ga.Sup.Ct. 1984)
• Odom v. Union City Downtown Development Authority, 305 S.E.2d 110 (Ga.Sup.Ct. 1983)

References

• Bank of America
• Wachovia Bank N.A.

Classes/Seminars Taught

• Lecturer, People's Law School (Attorney Client Relations and Ethics), Georgia Trial Lawyer's Association, 1988
• Estate Planning, Marietta City Schools, 1986
• Estate Planning, Marietta City Schools, 1996

Honors and Awards

• March of Dimes Distinguished Volunteer Award
• Boy Scouts of America Honor Member
• Emory Law School Appellate Advocacy Award (Moot Court Finalist)
• National Mock Trial Team, Emory University School of Law
• Kiwanis Club of Marietta, Distinguished Committee Chair (1989-1990) Member, 1987-2003, 2006 - Present
• Leadership Cobb (Cobb Chamber of Commerce) Class of 1996, 1996 - 1997

Professional Associations and Memberships

• State Bar of Georgia, Cobb County Bar Association
  
  
• Trial Lawyers Associations: Georgia and America
  Past Member
  
  
• Atlanta and American Bar Associations
  Past Member
  
  
• First Presbyterian Church, Marietta
  Elder, Deacon
  
  
• Cobb County Youth Museum Director
  Past President
  
  
• Kennesaw Mountain Chapter, March of Dimes (5 Counties)
  Board Member, 1981-1986, Walk Chair, Past Chapter Chair
  
  
• Friends of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Inc.
  Incorporator and Past Board Member
  
  
• Lee's Crossing Homes Association
  Past President
  
  
• Cub Scout Pack 252
  Past Committee Chairman
  
  
• A.L. Burruss Elementary P.T.A.
  Past Vice President
  
  

Past Employment Positions

• Quincy Collins for Congress Seventh District, Georgia, Campaign Manager, 1976
• Southeastern Legal Foundation, Staff Attorney, 1977 - 1983
• Self-employed, Attorney, 1983 - 1989
• Legal Services Corporation, Acting Southeastern Regional Officer (Director), 1987
• Cobb County, Georgia State Court Judge, Pro Hac Vice - Acting, 1984
• City of Marietta, Georgia, Ward 2, City Council Member 1990-1994; Mayor Pro Temp, 1991
• Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration, Member and Secretary, 1985 - 1989
• Cobb County Panel Attorneys Program (Indigent Defense), Member of the Board, (Appointee of Superior Court Judges), 1994 - 1997

Pro Bono Activities

• Cobb Justice Foundation (Indigent Clients), 1996-1999, 2007 - Present
• Cobb County Legal Aide Volunteer, Prior to 1996

Fraternities/Sororities

• Alpha Delta
• Phi Delta Phi

Birth Information

• 1952, Wilmington, Delaware, United States of America